Hailing a cab works great in certain neighborhoods, but if you're off the beaten path, there's not a lot of chance that a cabbie is going to randomly swing by for a pickup. One man is betting that the Digg generation would be more inclined to use taxis if there were a convenient web interface. Jason Diaz’s 1-800-cab-ride.com (800-222-7433) plans to be the one-stop online shop for scheduling taxi cabs. Essentially, 800cabride.com is a car service that doesn't own a single automobile - it uses a network of independent cab shops around the country to arrange rides from one central dispatch office.

It's a pretty simple setup. Just go to the website, choose pickup and drop-off locations, and the service will have a ride dispatched. Cab rides are billed at a flat rate that includes all applicable fees and tip, and payment is made on the website via credit card or corporate account. Airline pickups are "will call" when debarking so there's no chance of a delayed flight causing a missed ride. If you don't call the 800 number to confirm arrival there's no charge to the credit card. It's nice that they've kept it flexible because traveling can sometimes turn into a nebulous form of performance art.

I love using car services when traveling because I don't need to hassle with credit vouchers or even have to tip the driver. 800cabride.com is boasting a 10-15% savings over traditional cab rates thanks to bulk negotiating lower prices for their customers. So far service is available in the 25 major US markets and many other outlying cities. I highly support Mr. Diaz's idea, and I wish him the best of luck in his new business endeavor.

Stock image above taken from the Flickr set of the creative Mr. Jonathan Skaines.